FEBRUARY 3, 1921
of the area marked out by the four buoys. The winner will
be the pilot whose machine stops definitely nearest the
centre.
1st Prize ; 800 francs. 2nd Prize : 400 francs. 3rd Prize :
300 francs. The entry fee is 100 francs, which will be returned
to the Competitors taking part.
(2) Destroying Balloons.—The T est consists of the follow-
ing :—For each machine, three balloons will be released at
intervals of 30 seconds. The first balloon will be released
one minute after the start of the machine. Each machine
must carry a passenger in addition to the pilot, and the
passenger will destroy the balloons as quickly as possible
by means of a gun. Each competitor will be allowed ten
minutes to destroy the three balloons. At the end of this
time a bomb will indicate to the pilot that he must return to
the starting place. The balloons will be similar to those used
for meteorological purposes. Their lift will be determined
before the Contest, according to the atmospheric conditions,
and the information will be communicated to all competitors.
The number of attempts allowed will be determined before-
hand by the Commissaires Sportifs, and communicated to the
competitors. The time will be taken from when the Com-
missaire Sportif gives the order to start (one minute before
the first balloon is released) up to the time the competitor
crosses the finishing line in flight, after having destroyed the
three balloons.
1st Prize : 500 francs. 2nd Prize : 300 francs. 3rd Prize :
200 francs. The entry fee is 100 francs, which is returnable
to all competitors taking part.
Each machine will be allotted a number, which must be
placed on each side of the fuselage and under the planes.
With a view to assisting the competitors as far as possfble
towards the expense of transporting their machines, a guaran-
tee of 5,000 francs will be given at the end of the Meeting for
each machine properly entered, which has arrived in due time,
and completed at least 100 kilometres in one of the Contests.
This guarantee will however only be given where a prize has
not been won or if the total of prizes won does not reach 5,000
francs. In the latter case the amount will be increased in
order to bring it up to the figure of the guarantee, namely,
5,000 francs. This guarantee will only be given in the case
of machines which have come from a distance of 500 kilo-
metres or more.
Entry forms for all of the above Contests may be obtained
from the Royal Aero Club, 3, Clifford Street, London, W. 1.
Offices : THE- ROYAL AERO CLUB,
3, CLIFFORD STREET, LONDON, \V. 1.
H. E. PERRIN, Secretary.
NOTICES TO AIRMEN
Felixstowe Seaplane Station : Obstruction
1. Obstruction.—A temporary boom will shortly be
moored in Harwich Harbour to the north-west of the Felix-
stowe Seaplane Station, in lat. 51° 57' o" N., long. i° i8'3O"E.
The boom will extend from No. 3 mooring buoy (situated
at a distance of 2,080 ft., 310° from the red light on Felix-
stowe Pier) to No. 4 mooring buoy (situated at a distance
of 2,600 ft., 311° from the red light on Felixstowe Pier).
Alternatively, the obstruction will be placed across the
tide in a direction 500 from No. 3 mooring buoy, and will
•extend to a distance of 360 ft. approximately.
The lights for a vessel at anchor will be displayed from
the boom during the hours of darkness.
This boom causes an obstruction to aircraft in that part
of the harbour to the north of the seaplane station. Sea-
planes should, therefore, land or take off outside this area.
2. Authority.—Admiralty Notice to Mariners No. 2030 of
December 15, K520. (No. 12 of 1921.)
Pilots' Licences: Compulsory Examination in Navi-
gation
ALL applicants for a licence or for a renewal of licence as
pilot will be required, as from April 1, 1921, to undergo a
technical examination in navigation, as laid down by the
Air Navigation Directions, 1919 (para. 3 (2)). This examina-
tion, hitherto waived, will be viva voce, and will be conducted
by an Air Ministry Board.
A syllabus, compiled in the form of questions as a guide
to candidates, is attached.* It is sub-divided into the
following groups :—Definitions, Rules as to Lights, Rules
as to Signals, Rules of the Air, Rules for Air Traffic on and in
the Vicinity of Aerodromes, Regulations for Preventing
Collisions at Sea, Articles of the International Air Convention,
and Navigation.
The answers to questions 1 to 68 will be found in Annex D
of the Convention relating to International Air Navigation,
and those to questions 69 to ico in the Articles of the
Convention itself. The remainder are general navigation
questions.
When instruments are required to solve a question they
will be supplied by the Board of Examination.
When a paragraph of the Convention is referred to in a
question by its number, the paragraph will be read to the
candidate by a member of the Board.
Applicants for Private Pilot's Flying Certificates (Class A
Licence) will be examined in questions 1 to 100 only ; in
the case of candidates for the Royal Aero Club Certificate
the examination may be carried out, under arrangements
to be made, by the Royal Aero Club.
The Convention relating to International Air Navigation
is published by His Majesty's Stationery Office (price is.).
(No. 13 of 1921.)
• This can be obtained upon application to the Air Ministry.
CORRESPONDENCE
The Editor does not hold himself responsible for opinions expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of' the writers
not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters intended for insertion in these columns.
THE R.A.F.R.
[2038] I should like to express my cordial agreement
with the remarks contained in your leading article this
week, upon the subject of the Air Ministry.
From the formation of the R.A.F. down to the present
time, there has been a tendency, certainly apparent and
probablv real, to treat the Force as a branch of the Army.
One has" even heard the R.A.F. described as " a regiment."
That this tendency is wholly detrimental to the best interests
of the R.A.F. need not, presumably, be demonstrated in an
aeronautical journal, but there is need for active propaganda
upon the subject in political circles.
An Air Minister entirely unconnected with any other
Service is possibly our greatest need at the moment. But
another point in connection with this matter also deserves
attention at present, and that is the formation of what the
daily newspapers insist in calling " the Territorial Air
Force." This appellation appears wholly unfortunate, as it
tends further to spread the identification of the R.A.F.
with the Army. The word " volunteer," and, for the matter
of that, the word " reserve," are common to both the senior
Services. Why could not either or both of them be employed
to describe the new branch of the R.A.F. ?
- L. FRANCIS JONES,
late R.F.C. and R.A.F.
Kensington, W., January 21. •. ".-
The Napier 1,000 h.p. " Cub."
IT is now several months since the first public reference
was made to the new Napier aero engine. All that was
announced then was that the new power plant would have
16 cylinders and was expected to develop about 1,000 h.p.
During this week the daily press have published some highly
attractive accounts of the "Cub," but allowance should be
made for the usual lay press colouring, as the engine being
Duilt to the express order of the Air Ministry, it is not per-
missible to give accurate detail information concerning it
at the moment. We ourselves are not permitted as yet to
publish a description of this latest triumph of British aero
engine engineering, but readers of FLIGHT may rely upon
receiving early information when the way is clear. In the
meantime there can be no harm in mentioning those of
• the figures given in the daily which are reasonably
accurate.
The engine, which was designed by Mr. J. Rowledge, who
was, of course, responsible for the famous Napier " Lion,"
is a 16-cylinder of X formation, and on a recent test it
developed considerably over 1,000 h.p., and its weight is not
very much over 2 lb./h.p.
77